PIERCE COUNTY — The Pierce County Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission will accept applications for the 2021 Preservation Grant Program through Jan. 8, 2021. These grants assist in funding preservation efforts in Pierce County. The program’s goal is to distribute small, yet meaningful, grants to help promote historic preservation throughout the county.

Application details

Grant requests can be made for two types of proposals:

• Historic preservation: (maximum $25,000) for stabilization, restoration, or rehabilitation of properties, buildings or structures listed on national, state and local historic registers.
• History-related project proposals: (maximum request $10,000) for photograph or document preservation, history research, historic markers, and public events and programming promoting local history.

Owners of properties listed on historic registers, nonprofit organizations, public agencies, museums, historical societies and other community-based organizations are eligible to apply. All applicants must provide matching funds.

The commission will accept applications until 3 p.m. on Jan. 8, 2021. Applications will be evaluated by the commission, which administers the grant program. The commission then forwards project and funding recommendations to the Pierce County Council for approval.

Project activities must be completed by Nov. 10, 2021. The grant guidelines and application form are available on the Pierce County Landmarks and Historic Preservation website. The program is funded by HDOC (historic document) money. The funds come from the $1 recording fee collected by the county auditor for each document recorded, per RCW 36.22.170 as appropriated by the Pierce County Council.

[Editor note: If you are not located in a city of Pierce County, do not e deterred, but plan on working twice as hard for one of these grants. Of the meetings I have attended, I have yet to see an organization in the unincorporated south county granted one of these. That is my message to the historical preservation board that has left us hanging, even when additional funds were available.]